Pine Tribe’s Plant a Tree campaign reforests its first hectare

Last month, Pine Tribe reached an important milestone: we sold our first five thousand books! Accomplishing this goal also means that we can proudly announce the planting of our first five thousand trees for the cause of highland restoration in Ethiopia, thanks to our Plant a Tree Campaign.

As part of Pine’s mission to share our love for trees, and our respect for the planet and its people, for every book you purchase—we will plant a tree on your behalf. Our first batch of five thousand trees will be planted in cooperation with our reforestation partner, WeForest, to help reduce erosion and flooding at the Udo Escarpment site in the Ethiopian Rift Valley.

The Plant a Tree Project

Reforestation projects in this area have a meaningful impact not only for the local environment, but also for the residents of the region. Three local village districts are involved with the Ethiopian reforestation project: Galloargesi, Udo Watate, and Mekibassa. At peak planting season, the project can employ up to 2,500 villagers, or roughly 17% of the three districts’ adult population. This alternative income stream financially empowers local families, as well as giving them a sense of agency over the management of their environment.

In only six years, the Udo Watate section of the WeForest project in Ethiopia is showing signs of a healthy recovery.

WeForest has recently completed the Udo Watate section of the project, and the region is showing signs of a healthy recovery. Check out the progress over a six-year period in the photos above. The photo on the left is from January 2008, and the photo on the right is from March 2014.

With Pine’s five thousand new trees, WeForest can reforest one hectare of land, thereby reducing erosion, controlling flooding, and improving conditions for agricultural production, an industry that 80% of Ethiopians depend on as their primary livelihood.

Buy one, Get one Tree!

Help Pine Tribe take a stand against deforestation. Subscribe to our newsletter and plant a tree in Madagascar or Ethiopia!

Traditionally, the book industry has been part of the deforestation problem. We’d rather be part of the solution. At Pine Tribe, we love trees. Maybe you do too? So what else can you do to help? Here are three things you can do right now:

Appreciate what trees do for us every day: Get informed about your impact on the world’s forests, and be aware of how your local forests are doing.

Support sustainable publishing: Consider an e-reader, or purchase print-on-demand or second-hand books to reduce paper waste and deforestation resulting from excess copies.

While we’re proud of the small contribution we can make, we can’t wait to plant our next five (and ten… and fifty!) thousand trees after this. Our current goal is to plant 50,000 trees within the next 12 months. Please help us spread the message and share our love for trees, and don’t forget to hashtag #PlantATree when you tweet!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh8RpgtW4s0]

Statistics, photos, and reforestation site information from WeForest and here

Vicki is an American transplant who has traded Southern California for Scandinavia. She studies environmental science at the University of Copenhagen and writes for Pine spreading sustainable ideas and love and respect for the environment. You can follow her on Twitter at @hellovictoire.